The battery charge in Nicollette Sheridan’s trial against Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry has been dropped, per judge Elizabeth Allen White. With that part of the case removed, Cherry is no longer a defendant. The case still includes a wrongful termination claim against former employers ABC and ABC Studios.

Sheridan claimed in her original $6 million suit that Cherry had struck her on the set of Desperate Housewives on Sept. 24, 2008.

In dismissing the charge, the judge made the point that Sheridan’s claims did not meet the standard of proof for battery. The only question that remains in the case now is if Sheridan was, indeed, retaliated against by ABC when her character, Edie Britt, was killed off the show and she was let go. With the battery charge dropped, the jury will still be asked to decide on the wrongful-termination claim.

Cherry appeared outside the courtroom after the charge was dismissed and spoke to the press for the first time. “Obviously I’m thrilled by the judge’s decision,” he said. “But I’m going to withhold further comment until this matter is resolved completely.”